Sun Stalk
by Penwalla
Summary: In exchange for peace, the Sun Queen demands Neo King Endymion. However, as soon as he departs, an enemy strikes at Serenity and the Sun's princess. Can the royal couple, separated, overcome? On permanent hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

_Part One_

"Gouya."

"I-Ichi." The woman paused. "You've returned." The words were hopeful, pleading.

"Not for long, Gouya. I have come to ask for your help."

"Anything for you, Ichi."

Maybe this time he would stay a little longer.

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It was a beautiful day in Crystal Tokyo. The sun sparkled off the buildings and the streets, while people went about their business with unusual cheer. Parents set out to work and children headed to school, and deep in the palace, the royal couple lay in bed, the warmth and light of the sun streaming through their window and shining across the covers. While Endymion was awake and had been so for a while, his wife was asleep, curled up against his side and with no signs of waking anytime soon.

He had had a vivid nightmare. Normally this would be no cause for alarm, but the Neo King's powers included the occasion warning dream, and he was loathe to wait for the threat to come. He wanted to act, but the dream had been vague- a golden city under a dome, screaming like a child's, a spatter of blood on the ground, and then pain. He couldn't yet fathom the meaning of the dream, but it bothered him, so he stayed in bed at Serenity's side.

"Mmph." She mumbled, voice muffled. He reached out, absently, for a strand of her silver hair; sometimes she made it blonde again, sometimes she left it this way. He could tell her mood that way-the gold was for nostalgia, for longing, and sometimes for joy…

"Your Highness?" It was one of the messengers. "Sir, we have a visitor."

"Endymion?" This voice was Rei's. "There's a woman in the courtyard who claims so be the former Sailor Sun, now Sun Queen Gouya. We need you and Usagi out here."

"Give us a moment." He nudged his sleeping wife until her eyes fluttered open. A smile crept up on her face as she dragged herself upright.

"Good morning." Serenity said.

"We have guests, Usako. Hurry and get dressed." He watched as she slid out of bed and vanished into her enormous closet, returning with a white dress in hand. She changed quickly, pausing only to let him lace up the back for her, and grabbed a pair of shoes and her tiara. Finally, she picked up a comb and fixed her hair.

"What is it, love?" She asked as they hurried down the corridor. "You look troubled."

"I had a disquieting dream, and this unexpected 'Sun Queen' only makes me more nervous."

"Everything will work itself out." Her stomach growled, running the effect of her words, and she laughed. "And I'm hungry. I hope she doesn't want anything too important."

The couple went hand in hand outside, into a courtyard. It was perfectly circular and tastefully planned with plants and fountains everywhere. The Queen claimed the statues tended to be creepy and had refused to allow any; however, there were at least a dozen rosebushes in full bloom in all seasons. It was normally a tranquil and pleasant place.

Currently, however, there was a large golden chair in the center of the courtyard. A tall woman, dressed in heavy golden robes, was sitting there with three servants in red uniforms at her feet. Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter were there as well, on guard and silent. The woman looked up as the King and Queen came in, and they saw that she had orange hair piled on top of her head and a crown perched precariously above her eyebrows.

So this was the Sun Queen.

"You are Sun Queen Gouya?" Serenity asked cautiously. She held out a hand in invitation. The visitor regarded her coolly and nodded. She gave off an aura of arrogance and strength as strong as Serenity's aura of benevolence, and apparently Neo Queen Serenity was not yet worthy of actual speech.

"We were only dimly aware of the Sun Empire before now." Endymion addressed the woman himself. "Perhaps you would care to explain?"

"Of course." The woman stood, revealing her full height. "The Empire of the Sun, as you may recall, conquered the entire solar system…and beyond. Unfortunately, an attack by dark forces weakened us. The light of the Silver Millennium's predecessors drove away the enemy, but our power was broken. Only a few of us were left, deep in the sun, and we slowly regained our power there while the Silver Millennium arose. However, when the Moon's Empire fell, Metallia was in control of the sun. Thus, I sacrificed my previous form, Sailor Sun, and became Sun Queen Gouya. I put our kingdom to sleep…we awoke only a century ago and immediately began rebuilding our army. We felt it would be imprudent to make contact with the outside world until we were ready."

"I am glad to hear that your kingdom has survived." Serenity said. "I was unaware of your awakening, or else I would have offered my assistance to you. I hope that things are well?"

"Don't condescend to me." Gouya glared at Serenity. The Neo Queen was shorter than the Sun Queen, but as imposing; her thin frame and soft face belied more power than anyone could ever hope to master. She stared right back, her eyes free of anger. "I didn't come to beg the Crystal Kingdom for help-in fact, you will soon be begging me for mine."

"Why?" Mars broke in. "What do you want, Sun Queen Gouya?" Her fists were clenched, preparing to burst into flame should the need arise. Gouya chuckled at her.

"I have an army of three hundred thousand trained warriors with magical abilities. If you cannot or will not meet my conditions, I will send them to conquer your planet. I know that you have the great power of the Silver Crystal, but will you kill men, Neo Queen Serenity? I think not. After all, they are fathers and husbands and sons…No, I think I'll get what I want, if only because you are merciful. Don't think we'll let you get away with just defending yourselves-we will never give up. Solarians never do."

There was a horrified silence, broken only by the gurgling of the fountains and the soft murmurs of the Sun Queen's servants. Gouya waited calmly as Endymion and Serenity conferred. Jupiter and Mars moved in behind their rulers, ready to defend if anything happened. The other Inner Senshi came out of a side entrance, looking tense-Mars had sent out a distress code from her wrist communicator.

"What, exactly, do you want?" Serenity asked finally. In stark contrast to the defensive poses of her husband and Senshi, she laid her staff down on the ground and steeped close to Gouya, so that the two were only a foot apart. Unarmed, the Neo Queen folded her hands over her heart. "I see no reason to fight with you, or with anyone." Her voice was earnest. "Have we wronged you, or hurt you, to invite this aggression?"

"No." Gouya smiled, shaking her head as she would at a stupid child. "We Solarians are conquerors. We are warriors, and we live for battle. You are the strongest foe, although how you can use any power confounds me. That is all there is to it, Neo Queen. We are not evil, and we will not bow as all others do to your pretty words."

"Then do not. Live as you will." Serenity said. "But I cannot condone violence against my people, against my Earth. So tell me what you want." She expected that the Sun Queen would want power over their kingdom, trading rights, money, even one of the holy stones that kept the peace. She did not expect the words that Gouya said next.

"I want your husband."

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"She's good." That was the first thing out of Minako's mouth when she and the other Senshi had followed the monarchs into their office. As soon as the doors closed, the girls relaxed slightly and changed their clothes with a whirl of magic. As they had discovered, an eternity in uniform was not pleasant. "Very good."

"She's picked something she actually has a chance of getting because it looks reasonable compared to the damage she can do." Rei complained. "Endymion."

"One person in exchange for many seems like generosity, but Gouya is canny." Ami leaned against a console. "She knows that separating Mamoru and Usagi is the easiest way to weaken them both. Plus she can try and use the King for information. Not to mention what she could do with the Golden Crystal."

"Gouya can't wield the crystal." Endymion interrupted. He gently pushed Serenity into one of the chairs that sat before the consoles that ringed the walls. "She's not related to me and she doesn't have the raw, dark energy required to corrupt it."

"And she didn't ask for Serenity?" Makoto mused out loud. "The Silver Imperial Crystal is more powerful."

"But difficult to control." Endymion pointed out logically. He sighed. "Look at it from Gouya's perspective. She needs one of us. Serenity is a hundred times more powerful than I am. It makes sense to go for the weaker link."

"You're my strength, Endymion." Serenity murmured. "I always depend on you. And…if Gouya decides to attack…we'll be hard pressed to stop her, Endymion. I don't want to kill. I'm not sure I could."

"Then we don't have much of a choice." Ami said what everyone had not dared to voice, even though they were thinking it. No one could meet the Senshi of Wisdom's eyes, preferring the blank screens on the walls instead. "We might have to do this."

"No!" The Neo Queen snatched at her husband's hands. "No…"

He knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his. She looked at him, tears dripping down her face. For a long moment, no one spoke.

"Be strong." He whispered, kissing her hands. "I'll always be with you, even if it's only in your heart. And if this is what it takes to protect you…"

"Oh, Mamo-chan." Usagi sighed. "She gave us three days. How can I possibly…you're really going away…" She gulped, and her expression softened. The tears stopped, and she drew a white handkerchief from somewhere and wiped her face. "We should prepare some defenses to compensate. And we'll need to tell people the truth…there's no good lying if a war is coming…ah, we have to draft the treaty terms…" She groaned. "And I really can't do anything without you."

"Of course you can." He soothed. "We'll be fine, beloved, I promise."

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The planning began.

The Senshi rapidly ramped up their workloads so that the King and Queen could enjoy their last few days together. Endymion and Serenity made a speech to the public and drafted up a treaty for signing. There wasn't much to pack, as he didn't plan on taking anything burdensome. However, he did have one important duty to complete.

He had to give the Golden Crystal to Helios. Usagi would be able to channel it, a talent they had kept secret in case of emergencies, and it was unsafe to take it off the planet it controlled. What's more, leaving it here would effectively dethrone him. He would become Mamoru Chiba again and Helios would technically be guarding the planet until he returned. That way, Gouya couldn't use him politically.

He would not be used against her again. Never.

Serenity would be safe even if it killed him.

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She was crying quietly in her closet; she knew that as a queen it was her duty to be strong and brave, especially since Endymion was handling everything so calmly. But even though she'd grown considerably as a person since her days as lazy schoolgirl Usagi Tsukino, the fact remained that he true love was more precious to her than life itself. And the thought of living without him at her side was painful.

It was weak, perhaps, but she knew that her bond with him was her strength. Her powers came from her heart; to weaken themselves was to weaken their whole kingdom. Maybe that was why she hid in the closet to have a quick, furtive cry rather than sobbing to him instead. She didn't want him to know her pain.

"Will you come out, Usako?" She sighed, wiping her face dry. He could read her like a book. They'd been together for over a thousand years; it was foolish to try and have secrets in the face of that love. She got up and opened the door; there was her husband, waiting for her as always.

"Sorry." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "It hurts."

"I know." He sat beside her, and she took his hand without thinking. "It hurts me too."

No more words were needed.

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Gouya read over the contract, resembling a satisfied cat. She appeared to only briefly glance at it, when in fact she was absorbing every detail. She had long before learned the art of deception, and she used her image and her personality to manipulate and deceive whenever it suited her. There was no honesty in the world, Gouya thought, so one had to lie and cheat to get anywhere.

She signed with a flourish. Then Gouya pushed the heavy stack of paper across the table. The rulers of Crystal Tokyo sat there, looking superbly serene. The only sign of nervousness was the sight of their clasped hands on the table. Neither of them had come armed, which surprised Gouya; she had expected Endymion to be wearing at least a sword.

Were they supremely arrogant, or supremely trusting? Perhaps both. They were obviously powerful, as they had managed to defeat many enemies. But were they stronger than she was? She had no crystal of power to aid her, but she was a master of war, and these two really were only novices. Power was only as good as the one using it. And she was certain that taking the King from his Queen would cripple the Crystal Kingdom permanently.

Even if the odds had been against her, she would have found a way. Ichi had asked her to do this, after all. She could not refuse him.

"Are you ready?" Gouya asked Endymion. "I cannot tarry here any longer."

"Then let us go." He turned and kissed Serenity. "Farewell. Look after Chibiusa for me."

"I will." Serenity whispered. "I will." The door opened, and the two servants of Gouya came in, escorting the Sun Queen and Neo King out into the courtyard to transport back to the Sun Kingdom. Serenity remained in the room, staring blankly at the contract, even as Rei came in and sat down beside her.

Tears lid down her face, and Endymion felt his heart constrict. He hated it when he made her cry.

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The City of Sol was covered by a dome, and everything in it was golden. It resembled the city in his dream, which worried him. It meant that it wasn't just a nightmare but a premonition, and his premonitions were never of anything good. He could only pray that he would be able to meet whatever challenges were laid before him.

The Queen led him to a wing of the palace that was heavily guarded and eerily silent; she explained that it was the Royal Wing. Since her family was dead, she and her two children were the only ones here. The halls here were wide, the ceiling high, but the walls were bare and the floor hard. It was an unwelcoming place.

"While you are here, you will be acting as my children's nursemaid." Gouya announced. Endymion was surprised, but he concealed it and waited for her to go on. "No one is to know your identity; you'll need a new name. I will also expect you to report to the interrogation room each evening for a memory viewing. Is that clear?"

"No." Endymion replied. "It isn't."

Gouya smiled at his bluntness. "You'll adjust. I've arranged for clothes and such to be left in your room. Do not leave this wing unless I send for you."

"How kind of you. May I meet your children?" Gouya nodded and led further into the creepy building. There was a door at the end of the hallway, guarded on both sides and adorned with two crowns. The writing was in no language he understood, and he made a note to try and learn if he could. Gouya motioned for a guard to open the door, and the two monarchs entered a much cheerier room than the ones seen before. There were hangings in many colors on the walls, and heavy, fluffy rugs on the floor. Both the right and left walls had a bed, dresser, wardrobe, and desk, presumably one per child.

"Mousa. Keisa. Come out." She said in her most imperial manner. A plump girl with a dark, tangled mane and a taller boy with cropped orange hair emerged from inside one of the wardrobes. They were wearing matching blue tunics that fell to the knee for the boy and to the ankle for the girl, with gold belts around the waist. They were both barefoot and dirty-looking.

Mamoru couldn't help but think that if Usagi were to see them, her first instinct would be to hug them and her second to give them all baths and clean clothes. She had reacted that way after the calamity that caused the rise of Crystal Tokyo; half the palace had become a giant orphanage and she had mothered all the children until they were adopted.

"This is your new nursemaid…" She trailed off meaningfully. He took the hint and gave them his name.

"Mamoru."

"He'll be looking after you from now on. Behave yourselves. I trust you'll introduce yourselves?" Without waiting for an answer, the Sun Queen strode out of the room and let the guards close and bolt the doors again. The king-turned-nursemaid examined his new charges critically; they looked unhappy to see him, which didn't bode well for him.

They also looked too old for nursemaids-fourteen or fifteen.

The two siblings looked at each other and seemed to reach an agreement. The girl stepped forward and tried to curtsy in her narrow skirt; the boy bowed awkwardly.

"I'm Prince Mousa, and this is Princess Keisa." Mousa explained. He frowned at Mamoru. "You're really a nursemaid?"

"Yes." Mamoru lied. It occurred to him that the word nursemaid referred specifically to women. He was mildly offended.

"The other ones were girls." Keisa explained. "I'm fourteen years old and I don't need a nursemaid. What I need is a-"

"Oh, not this again." Mousa complained. "You are not getting married to Lord Sarad."

"Oh, what do you know?" Keisa asked. "He thinks I'm pretty. He might ask Mother for my hand."

"Right. No one cares abut us, Keisa. We've never even left the Royal Wing, remember? Mother doesn't even like us."

"She does like us! We're her children. The only heirs to the throne." Keisa insisted. "And she might marry-"

"Don't, Kei!" Mousa gestured to Mamoru, at which point Keisa rolled her eyes in a way that reminded him of Chibiusa.

"He's a servant. No one cares what he thinks or hears." Keisa said dismissively. "You, go away."

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Neo Queen Serenity stood out on the balcony, hands clasped over her chest, and stared up at the sky, wishing upon the stars that had always offered her protection before. She was praying for his safety, as always, and selfishly, that he would miss her and not forget her. It seemed silly to doubt after over a millennium of devotion, but she still fretted over him.

The clouds rolled in, and she went back inside. Clutched in one hand was a moon-faced pocket watch.

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	2. Chapter 2

_Part Two_

Keisa was very much like her mother in one way: she had arrogance and pride due to her station and ability. However, Sun Queen Gouya had done for kingdom what Serenity had done so many times for Earth. She was a skilled warrior and a respected leader, and her arrogance was tempered by her sharp head more often than not. Keisa had lived in the Royal Wing her whole life. She had been ignored by her own mother and been left uneducated and wild, yet she had also been repeatedly told of the greatness of her kingdom and station. The princess outwardly considered herself a beautiful and talented woman, even though she'd had very little education beyond a basic grasp of the Sun's history and fluency in Galaxian.

Her brother, on the other hand, was focused entirely on rebellion. He resented his entrapment in the Royal Wing and constantly was reading books on war and fighting, as well as trying to learn to fight. The culture of the Sun was one of a giant army; everyone contributed to the military. If you were a cook, your dishes could be made on the march and your cutting knives doubled as throwing knives. If you were a tailor, you would make durable and comfortable uniforms, and the thread you sewed with doubled as a lasso. To be the heir to the throne and have no prowess was humiliating for Mousa, but no amount of pleading would keep Gouya from keeping her children where they were.

Mousa and Keisa fought constantly; they only worked together when they were trying to torment Mamoru. Unfortunately for them, he was nothing like the stern crones and gentle maids who'd been watching them before-Mamoru had already had the misfortune of raising a willful little girl for nine hundred years, during which she steadfastly refused to listen to him. Neither Keisa nor Mousa could outdo the pink-haired girl who had nearly destroyed the world single-handedly.

While Mousa was suspicious of Mamoru and his real motives, Keisa had immediately began giving him orders in her best 'princess' manner. At first she had merely made him clean and do other menial work, but after she'd discovered he was from Earth, she'd become hungry for information. She knew very little of other planets, since her knowledge was from the biased tongue of her mother, and she was fascinated by the planet said to be ruled by an all-powerful goddess of the moon.

"Is she really as beautiful as they say?" Keisa asked as she flounced up and down the hall. She was practicing her walk, but the effect was ruined by the ill-fitting set of robes she was wearing. "Neo Queen Serenity, I mean. She's supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the Solar System."

"She is." Mamoru assured her. "She's lovely." Serenity's face came unbidden to his mind, her eyes sparkling with delight and her crescent mark shining. He missed her, and the ache of their separation had not faded, even though he'd been here two months.

"How could you know? You're only a commoner." A commoner for a Solarian was someone who did not directly contribute to the military success of the Empire. For example, artists, and musicians, as well as the rare few who were pacifists. Commoners also included those too weak to fight or those who failed to master the art of battle. According to that definition, most of Crystal Tokyo's population was commoners. It was a gross insult to be one in Solarian society; the only worse was to be a coward.

"The Neo Queen rarely emerges from her castle, it's true. But she makes addresses to the city, and she comes out onto her balcony in person on special occasions. Everyone has the chance to see her then."

"I heard from Lord Sarad about the Crystal Kingdom. He comes to visit me in secret sometimes. I think he's in love with me. He told me that there's a Neo-Princess in Crystal Tokyo as well, but she's not as refined as I am. He found it all out from one of the spies on reconnaissance. He also thinks I sound beautiful when I speak Galaxian."

"Lord Sarad just wants you to convince Mother to promote him." Mousa interrupted in Solarian. He was sitting up against the wall, reading a book written in Solarian. Mamoru had still not been able to access the library in the castle, as Mousa snuck off on his own to retrieve books and always timed his escape to coincide with Keisa's demands. "If Mother wanted you married, she wouldn't be keeping us a secret in the Royal Wing with only two guards and a nursemaid."

"We're secret because we're protected." Keisa switched into Solarian abruptly. "Mother must love us! We're the only ones with her royal blood!"

Mousa answered in the same language. "Oh, please! She's ashamed of us! We were born to some foreigner who was passing baby, rather than a real Solarian warrior!"

Keisa froze in place, her hand gripping the loose fabric of her too-big robes. Beneath she was wearing the same tattered blue tunic as always, since her mother rarely paid enough attention to ensure her children were properly clothed and only left the children with one servant to tend to all their needs. She was suddenly all too aware of the fact that she looked like a farmer's daughter, playing dress up in a queen's clothes.

She was also painfully aware of the fact that her father, the one who by tradition choose the husband for his daughters, was unknown to her. The tradition had begun from the practice of lower-ranking soldiers being rewarded with better wives in correlation to their performances while training and fighting.

Furious, she turned on her heel and strode out down the hallway and back into her room. No doubt she would stay there until she was finished sulking. Mousa glared at Mamoru and spoke up again, this time in Galaxian.

"Keisa doesn't understand how to behave. She assumes people of lower birth just don't have ears. But if you breathe a word to anyone…"

"I'll keep your secrets." Mamoru replied evenly. He heard a bell sound in the distance. It was time for him to report to the interrogation area for his nightly memory viewing.

Memory viewing was a specialized technology of the Sun Empire that Mercury would have loved to lay hands on. It was unknown to Mamoru, although he made every attempt to figure it out whenever he had time to spare a thought for it. Every evening, he came down to the round room, surrounded y strange machinery, and lay don on something not unlike the psychologist couches of old. There was a band that fit over his head, and then, with concentration, he could summon up a memory. The memory would be processed by a combination of magic and supercomputers, then be displayed on the large screen set against one wall.

Gouya was waiting for him as usual. She had hoped that with the help of the memory viewer, she would be able to recover the knowledge Ichi wanted easily. However, she had not counted on the Neo King possessing a photographic memory and a sense of humor. Within the last two months, she'd viewed an entire textbook on the subject of physics, from Mamoru's high school days. He could remember every page and took pleasure in lingering on the details, on every note he'd taken.

He lay down and fastened the band over his hand, concentrating on the biology textbook he'd used to study for his high school entrance exams. He began with the title page, focusing on every detail. Gouya glared at the page; while the memory viewer translated everything into Galaxian, the subject was still boring and out of date.

"I would have thought the husband of the great Neo Queen Serenity would be more…" Gouya paused, looking for the words. Mamoru looked amused.

"People often find I don't live up to my reputation."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Should it?" Mamoru asked. "I prefer to live to up to my standards, not someone else's."

Gouya glanced up at the screen, which was showing a diagram of a cell. She imagined Neo Queen Serenity for a moment, and realized she'd expected the Neo Queen's husband to resemble his spouse. King Endymion was polite, and diplomatic, and self-sacrificing, just as Serenity supposedly was, but he was also surprisingly calm about his situation. It made her want to suspect him of something.

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Serenity walked through the walled, royal gardens, her crystal in hand. She was scanning the Earth for danger, a weekly task that she normally performed with her husband's help, and also brooding on the strange portents Mars kept seeing. They seemed to be memories, of their awakening after their rebirth, but they also showed a dark castle that none of them recognized.

Evil was circling just out of their reach, and it was infuriating. The Inner Senshi were on edge, and they took out their restlessness in different ways. Mercury began running scenario after scenario through her computer, spending ridiculous amounts of time locked into the control room. Mars meditated until she was stiff, then yelled at her apprentices. Venus bit her nails and experimented with hair styles and hummed constantly. She also took on extra work. Jupiter baked a cake and gave it to Serenity, then destroyed a training dummy with her bare hands.

Serenity dug her fingers into her palms and presented a tranquil demeanor to everyone around her. She knew that if something was coming, she'd be the first to panic, so it was important that everyone else stay as calm as possible. Finishing her scan, and detecting nothing, she let the crystal be absorbed into her body again and headed back towards the castle.

"Protected by the Planet of the Sea, the Senshi of the Depths, Sailor Neptune!"

"Protected by the Planet of the Heavens, the Senshi of the Skies, Sailor Uranus!"

"Protected by the Planet of Time and Space, the Senshi of the Underworld and the Guardian of Time, Sailor Pluto!"

"Protected by the Planet of Destruction, the Senshi of Silence, Sailor Saturn!"

The four Outer Senshi stood perched on the wall surrounding the garden, talismans in hand. Serenity smiled and ran back towards them, arms held out. She could feel the auras of their Sailor Crystals, gone for so long.

"Where have you been?" The Queen sniffled into Uranus's shoulder. "I haven't seen you two since the Calamity! And no one told me Pluto had been reborn! And Hotaru was in France-we only ever found dust there!"

"We were needed." Neptune explained. "Pluto was in the Time Gate, as you know. We three were elsewhere."

"But why?" Usagi asked. "You could have written!"

"You yourself said that the Outer Senshi weren't in Crystal Tokyo. We never met Small Lady, which meant we had to go away until she met us in the past." Uranus said pointedly. "So Setsuna sent us to another galaxy with a Space Key to get us back."

"Another galaxy?" Serenity asked. "So far away?"

"We've seen many strange and wondrous things. We've brought you some gifts, too." Neptune smiled. "Did you think we would never come back?"

"I missed you all." Usagi muttered, hugging them all in turn. "Ah, I have to throw a ball now! To celebrate."

"Hey, don't get your hopes up." Uranus warned. "I don't think we're staying. Pluto says she needs to get back into the Time Gate, and Neptune and I…well…"

"You don't think you can stand living in a peaceful city, in a peaceful world." Serenity smiled sadly. "Well, you've come at the right time. Rei keeps seeing things in the fire, and the Sun Queen's taken Endymion away. We could use a hand."

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After everyone had been reunited, the Senshi and their Queen gathered in the control room. Ami showed the Outers the scans she had run.

"There's nothing my machines can detect." Ami said. "Usagi's not picking anything up either. But we can all feel evil closing in."

"The seas are restless." Michiru agreed. She drew her mirror and stared into it, calling up an image of what awaited them. A pair of eyes, guileless and beige, appeared for an instant. "But the enemy conceals himself well."

"We'll find out soon enough." Rei said. "They're coming." She frowned, resting her hand on Usagi's shoulder.

"Maybe the festival?" Minako suggested. "The anniversary of the founding of the city is in four months time. Most of the aliens from other planets will arrive within a week's time. All the foreign acts start screening next week, after we finish checking the native ones. It would be an easy way to get in."

"Like the Dead Moon Circus." Ami agreed. "Yes, I can look at the list of accepted names, although whoever it is must be using an alias or be an unknown. Otherwise the computers would have flagged them."

"Hm." Usagi cocked her head ti the side, thinking. "I'd hoped that by now…"

"The light draws the darkness." Setsuna came through the door, her staff in hand. She was dressed in slacks and a blouse, and seeing their surprise, she sat delicately beside Michiru. "The Time Gate is gone. Our portal into the fourth dimension no longer exists, which means any enemy attempting to cross through time would have to create their own rift. Certainly I would detect them."

"Oh, but then you can stay with us." Usagi said, relieved. She had always felt guilty about knowing that Setsuna would be shut up in the Gate while Usagi went free. "Setsuna, when were you reborn?"

"My Pluto Crystal found its way to another time rift elsewhere. The powers there revived me, and I was able to return." She explained. "But it is of no consequence. Danger is at hand."

"Indeed." Rei murmured. "Unfortunately, we are at a loss. As usual."

"My sight into the future is limited for now." Setsuna said apologetically. "It might be of more use to try and discover what our enemy actually wants."

"I'd put down money on it being the Silver Imperial Crystal." Haruka said. "It's always the crystal."

"Either that or they've fallen madly in love with Usagi." Minako added. "Like Diamond. And maybe they convinced the Sun Queen to steal Endymion away?"

"The King isn't here?" Setsuna asked. Usagi explained the Queen's threat and the contract.

"The Sun Queen was cold, but she wasn't evil. She can't be behind this." The Neo Queen protested. "She was honorable…"

"Only you could try and like the woman who made off with your husband." Makoto sighed. She leaned back against the console behind her. "She may or may not be involved. Let's not make any judgments until we've investigated."

"First, we should divide up guard duty on Usagi. One of us should try and watch her at all times, especially at night." Ami said. "Now that the Outers are here, we can take shorter shifts."

"I'll take tonight's watch." Hotaru spoke for the first time. "If Usagi doesn't mind?"

"We'll take shifts." Rei interrupted. "Hotaru can take a few hours. I'll take a few, too. That way we'll be rested if we have to fight suddenly."

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They were the best, well-trained men who made their living by doing illegal, cruel, and destructive things for the sake of money. They had no names, and no families, only their weapons and their skills.

There were three of them, sneaking in utter silence along the edges of the Crystal Palace. Their goal was the balcony extending from the royal bedroom. It was not common knowledge that the balcony was actually a decoy for formal occasions, while the real balcony was located on another tower, hidden behind the best protective concealments the Inner Senshi were capable of.

However, the men creeping through the night were well-equipped, and they made it into the palace without any problems. They walked softly through the halls, using a negative aura displacer to hide their presences, staying near the walls. Soon they were outside the real royal bedroom.

The taller of the men pushed open the door, passing the sleeping girl who sat by the doorway. He walked, followed by his partner, towards the bed. The queen lay there, serene as ever, fast asleep. The shorter man drew a vial of sedative and a long needle, intending to drug her. He leaned forward.

Serenity's hand twitched. Light flared up in the room, and suddenly the taller man was encased in crystal, while the shorter was standing very still due to the Silence Glaive pressed against his throat. Saturn's eyes were narrowed with anger as she held her weapon to his neck.

"My queen." The Senshi of Destruction said formally. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Serenity trapped the other man in crystal as well, and motioned for Saturn to step away. "But how did they get in here?" There were numerous protections on the palace; for anyone to enter, undetected, was quite a feat.

"Ami decided it would be better if we let them wander-we hoped they'd reveal something while wandering." Saturn explained coolly. "So we let them get in here."

"Why?" Serenity wasn't addressing her Senshi; she was looking at the two men she had trapped. "You wanted me?"

The two men merely stared. They were well trained, too well trained to say a word. But they couldn't mask their true hearts form Serenity's gaze, and seeing her benevolent eyes and her calm, they wondered about the mission they were undertaking. The Neo Queen often had that effect on people.

"Saturn. Please have Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune escort these men off the planet, if you don't mind." She paused. "You can always change your mind, if you decide something else is right. You can always make a choice. And you can always turn back, no matter how far into the dark you go."

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Mamoru was standing outside the door, waiting for Keisa's sobbing to subside. She had returned form a secret rendezvous with the notorious Lord Sarad and immediately shut herself in hr room, a sure sign that she had been insulted or offended in some way. He could recall Chibiusa's brief, if tumultuous, bout of adolescence; she'd gone form nine to nineteen in one year and it had been the most difficult year of his life. Now she was traveling the galaxy, along with her new Senshi.

Chibiusa had repeatedly had fits when Helios referred to her as his 'little maiden'. She had steadfastly refused to be called Small Lady by anyone, as she claimed that she was no longer small, and 'Lady' was stuffy. Instead, she'd reverted to using her adopted name since 'Usagi' was confusing.

Jerking himself out of his wanderings in the past, he found that the sounds of crying had quieted. He unbolted and pushed open the heavy door, and saw Keisa lying messily across her bed.

"Are you alright?"

"Go away." Keisa snapped in her best royal tone. Her voice cracked, ruining the effect.

"Did he say something to you?" Mamoru asked shrewdly.

"…he called me a child." Keisa whispered. "A child! I'm a woman!"

"You're only fourteen, your highness."

"How will I ever get him to propose now? I'll never get out of here if I don't marry. Never." Keisa had obviously been holding in her feelings for a long time, and Mamoru suspected he just happened to be around to listen at the right moment. "I'm a princess of the Sun Empire. I'm one of the highest women in the land. And yet I have to stay here with two servants, guards, and my brother for company when I should have a whole army trying to win my hand. I should have lots of dresses and armor and be able to go to festivals." Keisa sniffed. "And instead…I don't even have a father to marry me off. And no skill in arms, either. My only chance is to get married to a strong warrior."

"Have you talked to your mother about all this?"

"Mother! Mother never listens. I don't think she understands me at all!"

Mamoru fought the urge to smile. The mental image of Usagi and Chibiusa, a thousand or so years ago, denying any relation in the same voice with the same hairstyle and same face, reminded him of Keisa. She seemed to have the Sun Queen's pride.

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	3. Chapter 3

_Part Three_

Gouya glided through the dark hallway. This particular passage was locked off from the rest of the building; only she could enter. She was carrying a tray laden with food, water, and a candle to light the way. She reached her destination, and after entering a complex key into the console set in front of the door, went inside.

There was a fat, round-faced man lying in the bed that took up most of the room. There were no windows, and the walls were thick to block out sound and invaders. A few lamps were the only other furnishings in the small room. There were thick velvet hangings on either side of the bed, the walls, as well as a heavy canopy over the man's head.

"Gouya!" The man cried weakly. "I hurt. Make it better."

"Ichi sent this for you, Sanji. It will make you better." Gouya hid her distaste for Sanji as she laid the tray before him. He picked up the fork and began to eat messily, spreading food all over his face. Ichi had always done this with barely hidden disgust, but Gouya strove to appear kind in the hopes that Sanji would recommend her to Ichi.

It was a foolish notion, of course, and normally Gouya wasn't given to such things. But Ichi was different. From the very beginning, he had been unlike anyone else, and he had had an effect on her that no other man could ever dream of having. It wasn't that she was too proud to marry-if she had never met Ichi, it would have been a priority. But the fall of the Sun Empire had left her with a kingdom to rebuild and nothing else.

But long ago, when the moon was just a white rock, the Sun Empire had been feared and respected and renowned throughout the galaxy. Visitors passed through the royal place constantly, trying themselves against Solarian warriors and offering goods and services to the Empress and Emperor. She had been the Solar Princess then, a girl with a closet of fine dresses and a collection of sharp daggers.

Ichi had visited with his parents and little brother. While the whole of the palace puzzled over his parents' bizarre behavior, Ichi remained aloof. His brother Sanji was an embarrassment, an immature, whiny, stupid boy who ate constantly and giggled like a little girl. He worshiped Ichi, however and Ichi, rather than cut him down as Gouya would have done, let him be.

She hadn't understood why at first. Then she'd heard Ichi talk to Sanji in private.

As it turned out, the reason Ichi's parents were so weird was that they had been controlled by Sanji for almost five years. They had long since lost all their natural resistance and were mentally damaged beyond all repair. Sanji's ridiculous and humiliating behavior was a result of brain damage caused by his powers awakening early; because of this, he was easily manipulated by his older brother. Ichi understood Sanji's enormous power; while he hadn't inherited it, as Sanji had, he had inherited immunity to it. So he used his brother to get what he wanted.

And Ichi had plans. He was preparing to murder his own parents, take over their business, and move it into the black market, where upon he could establish his own criminal empire. And Gouya, listening to him talk, had been both repulsed and fascinated. She was convinced he could do it. She watched as he worked his way up, sometimes thinking of interfering but never actually doing anything.

And somewhere along the way, she found herself attracted to him. Ichi understood that. He was clever, and he used her. Gouya knew she was his pawn.

And yet she helped him. Until the Empire fell, defeated by conquered lands. Until they retreated into the sun and Ichi left, no longer needing her. She had thought he was beyond her reach, but she had woken back up and found him waiting. He had use for her now.

And so she had committed monstrosities for him. Betraying her people, whom she was meant to defend and lead well; even bearing his disgusting pig of brother's children so that if Sanji died, ill as he had become, there would hopefully be an heir who inherited the mind control powers and who Ichi could use.

Neither Keisa nor Mousa had the power. They were failures, and looking at them reminded her of her shame-she, Sun Queen Gouya, reduced to bedding filth like Sanji just for the meanest praise from Ichi. It was true, and she hated herself. But she loved him more.

Sanji wailed, and she moved numbly to attend to him.

* * *

Keisa and Mousa sat on the edges of their beds, listening to Mamoru talk. He was telling them about the annual festival celebrating the founding of Crystal Tokyo, when the ice age had ended and the newly-ascended Neo Queen had awakened the people. They had come together in the center of the ruins of Tokyo, and from the melting ice a city of crystal had been born. There was still a marker where he and Serenity had been frozen, arm in arm.

"It rains flower petals." Mousa repeated. "How does that work?"

"The King does it every year." Mamoru felt odd referring to himself in the third person. He did in fact make it rain flower petals every year, although what flower was decided by a committee. It occurred to him that Helios would have to do it this year. "Sometimes the princess helps."

"But why would anyone want it to rain flower petals?" Mousa asked, exasperated.

"To celebrate the fact that the three years of hail and snow are over." Mamoru tried to explain. But he knew it was difficult for the two Solarians to understand what purpose raining flowers would have-after all, this was a military based society. He went on to describe the parades, and the speech given by the monarchs, and the adornment of the marker in the center of the city by children.

The two listened, and Keisa was particularly interested to hear that many weddings were held after the festival, since it was considered an auspicious time to get married.

"But what if your father doesn't give consent?" Keisa asked. "Marriage agreements can take months to work out."

"Not on Earth. You don't need your parents' consent to get married, and there aren't contracts the way there are here. You just have to register with the government and make a pledge to each other."

"But…" Mousa frowned. "Why bother getting married if you aren't getting anything out of it?"

"People get married because they fall in love." Mamoru replied. "That's all."

There was a knock at the door. The three looked up, and the door was swung back to reveal Gouya, her expression cool with anger. She was wearing forest green armor and carrying a long metal pole with a cluster of spikes at the end.

"Do not fill their minds with nonsense." Gouya snapped. "At least teach them something useful. And come with me." Mamoru got up and followed her out; she hid her irritation well, so that her stride was no tighter than usual. They went down into the memory-viewing chamber.

"It's early." He remarked. She nodded tersely; Ichi would be arriving soon, and she hadn't managed to secure any useful information for him. She handed him the band to wear over his head, and he did so.

The screen flickered to life. This time, however, it wasn't a school text from the old days but an actual memory. Gouya watched as Mamoru recalled the face of his pink-haired, stubborn daughter as she sat on a bench in the garden, her legs swinging idly as she pointedly didn't look at her father.

"_Are you going to sulk all night, Chibiusa?" Neo King Endymion asked. "It'll get chilly."_

"_Mama doesn't like me." She replied fiercely. "She doesn't-she couldn't! Otherwise…she would let me go…"_

"_Go where? On the diplomatic mission to the next system?" _

"_I want to go! I'm the stupid Princess, remember? It's my job to do things like this. I'm all grown up and-"_

"_That is why your mother won't let you go." Endymion said sternly. "Because this is a diplomatic mission, Chibiusa, which calls for tact and being thick-skinned. A Princess who goes off and sulks whenever her parents tell her 'no' isn't ready to handle the delicate process of interplanetary relations. Especially one who thinks age is a substitute for maturity, and who insists on hurting her mother's feelings."_

_Chibiusa froze, looking down guiltily at her legs. They were white and slim, so that she stood as tall as her mother in her traditional white heels, and she'd delighted in staring at herself in the mirror these past few months now that adolescence was over. She was so pretty and adult-looking, like a real princess. Silly to think that way, but she'd been a child for so long._

_Her mother, even now, seemed faraway. Usagi had made perfect sense to her, but Neo Queen Serenity was a mystery-all soft smiles and gentle grace. She was flawless, like a painting, and always right besides. Chibiusa adored her mother, admired her mother, but constantly felt inadequate in comparison to her. She was inevitably ashamed under her mother's sweet, understanding gaze and her kind, reassuring words. _

"…_is Mama mad?"_

"_No." Endymion waited patiently for Chibiusa's familiar expression; shame and pride twisted together, as she prepared to apologize. "She's just- sad. She thinks her only child hates her guts."_

"_I love Mama. But she's not…real to me. I can't explain it…and I can never understand her until it's too late and I've said hateful things."_

"_Better late than never, Chibiusa. Go and say sorry to her."_

The screen flickered off. Gouya scowled heavily- she had the distinct sense that Endymion had been trying to make a point to her. He pulled off the metal band and made for the door, but she stopped with a raised hand. The fact that he hadn't cared about offending her intrigued her.

"What do you know about my children?" She asked softly. "Nothing."

"Nothing." Mamoru agreed. "Except that they think you hate them, and that you've neglected them."

"Neglect, perhaps. Hate is too strong a word…I am indifferent to them for now. Their behavior, their unrefinement, it annoys me."

"They say they've never been taught, although your daughter gets most of her gossip from a Lord Sarad, and your son is skilled at stealing books about weaponry and warfare."

Gouya raised her eyebrows in frank surprise. "Really."

"Really. They might benefit from a real tutor."

"What's the point? Children of their…descent…are not eligible to rule this kingdom. No doubt they will muddle along somehow."

"So you take your feelings about the father out on the children." He mused out loud. Gouya looked up sharply. Her children were failures, it was true, marked so by the fact of their birth-her failure to secure Ichi's love, her failure to hang on to her own dignity, her failure to birth proper children, and secretly, her failure to raise them.

How dare he?

"And your spoiled, willful brat of a child?"

"My 'spoiled, willful' child is not perfect," Mamoru admitted. "But I love her and do my best for her, rather than ignoring her because she fails to meet my expectations."

"How will a child, so softly raised, meet the harshness of ruling?" Gouya asked. "If I had heirs who were worthy-"

"You shouldn't blame your children for the circumstances of their conception. It's not _their_ fault."

Gouya scowled, feeling the insult despite herself. Not their fault, indeed- well, she was the finest stock in the royal family, and Ichi was hardly some common fool, and Sanji had to have some of his...No, there was something just wrong with her children. She had given them the best bloodline possible, and yet they had failed to meet her expectations. Gouya was loathe to admit to herself that she had been unable to produce the right children for Ichi, in front of Mamoru.

"What could they have possibly needed besides my blood?" Gouya asked, not realizing, for a moment, that she spoke aloud. It had been too long since anyone questioned her about the children; they were secrets, and her position as Queen was held secure by her reputation, enough that she could keep them that way. There were those who sought power, but the power they desired as always a result of her favor.

"Your attention. Children are deeply affected by their fifteen or so years of life."

"Then mine are doomed to small lives, as they have ceased to learn anything from me."

"When did you ever try to teach them?"

"I taught by example."

"When were you ever around to provide the example?" Mamoru asked. "Mousa and Keisa never see you."

"They are useless to me." Gouya snapped. "As you are beginning to be."

"You want a war so badly that you would risk killing me?" Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "That seems dishonorable."

"You are no warrior."

"My planet has found peace now that those who seek to destroy are gone."

"Your peace makes you weak." Gouya spat. "Return to the children's quarters."

Mamoru bowed and left; Gouya stared after him for a long while. The image of that pink-haired girl, reaching out pathetically for her father's guidance, lingered for far longer than it should.


End file.
